Mail-bag-handling apparatus.



H. F. HANSMANN.

MAIL BAG HANDLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1912.

1,063,435, Patented June 3, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

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WITNESSES [NVENTOR Attorney COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co wAsl-lmu'roN. D. c.

H. P. HANSMANN. MAIL BAG HANDLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION TILED NOV. 12, 1912.

' 1,063,435, I Patented June 3, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

' CCILL'MBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASHINGTDN, nfc.

HARRY F. HANSMANN, OF 'II-IORPE, WISCONSIN.

MAIL-BAGr-HANDLIN G APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY F. HANSMANN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Thorpe, in the county of Clarkand State of WVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements inMail-Bag-Handling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus.

One object of my invention is to provide apparatus of this kind whichwill catch the mail-bags without undue shock and injury to the bags orparts attached thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide suitable means fordelivering the mailbags to a car door or the equivalent, and means toautomatically engage and maintain the parts in caught position untilreleased by manually operated means.

Still another object is to provide in connection with such apparatus,arms which will fold during delivering movement of the apparatus, andmeans to initially start the folding of the arms upon the catching ofthe mail-bag.

A further object of the invention is to provide yielding means todirectly engage a mail-bag or attached part thereof, which acts againsta movable spider which in turn is cushioned by suitable yielding means.

Further objects of the invention Will appear from the descriptionfollowing hereinafter taken in connection with drawings accompanyingthis application, wherein Figure 1 is a plan View of the apparatusshowing the same connected to the side of a car, and also showing meansfor holding a mail-bag to be caught; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thesameparts as Fig. 1; the car being shown in cross section at the doorwaythereof; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the catching means, and;Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the crane arms andconnected parts.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate like or similarparts throughout the several views.

Referring specifically to the drawings, A designates any suitablesupport for a mailbag B which is usually stationed along a railwaytrack, as at a railway station. The mail-bag as is usual, is connectedto a movable support by upper and lower rods, links or cords, designatedC.

D designates a car and E designates the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 12, 1912.

Patented June 3, 1913.

Serial No. 730,845.

improved mail catching and delivering apparatus.

Describing the mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus, 1 designatesupper and lower crane arms which are pivoted as at 2 to suitablebrackets 3 fastened to the side of a car. Rotatably mounted in the arms1 is a vertical shaft 4. provided with a pinion 5 substantially midwaythereof. The teeth of pinion 5 mesh with the teeth of a gear or toothedsegmental rack 6 fastened upon the side of the car D. Suitable recessesare provided in the arms 1 and therein work sprocket wheels 7, keyed orotherwise fastened to the shaft 4. Over the sprocket wheels 7 passsprocket chains 8 which in turn engage a sprocket wheel 9, pivoted uponthe arms 1 as by means of a bolt or stud 10, receiving a nut 11 beyondone face thereof. The sprocket wheel 9 is preferably rigidly fastened toa plate 12. Upon the plate 12 and on opposite sides thereof extendingsubstantially parallel with the car, are provided gripping or graspingdevices 18 for the mail-bags, or more specifically the rods C thereof.Said devices 13 comprise a single strap of spring metal which isfastened at its ends at 14 directly to the plate 12, and bentintermediate its ends to provide the curved arms 15 which are deflectedfrom a socket portion 16 from which they extend. Upon plate 12 slides aspider member 17 having arms 18 and 19 at right angles to each other,the latter of said arms sliding through brackets 20 on plate 12, and attheir extremities provided with bumper sockets 21. Arm 18 is arranged inthe path of an arm 22 provided on a link 28 pivoted at 2 1 to arms 1,and hinged or pivoted at 25 to a similar link 26. In turn the link 26 ispivoted to a bracket at 27 provided on the side of a car. To the arms 1are connected coil springs 28 which are also connected to the car andexert tension in a direction to maintain the links 23 and 26 extended,as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3.

The arms 1 are to swing toward the doorway of a car, as will be morefully set forth hereinafter, and to maintain the arms latched or caughtat said doorway to facilitate the removal of said bags, suitable meanspreferably as follows, is provided: Latches designated 29 are pivoted atthe doorway of the car, one latch for each arm 1. The latches areprovided with an inclined face at 30 and beyond the same with a socketor opening as shown. Springs 31 fastened to the latches and to the car,are provided to hold the latches in operative relation to the arms. Tothe car at the doorway thereof, intermediate the latches 29, is pivoteda manually operable lever 32. To this lever 32 is connected cords orwires 33, in turn connected to the latches 29. It is to be noted thatthe pivot of lever 32, which may be designated 34, is intermediate theconnections of the cords 33 thereto, so that by actuation of a singlelever, both latches may be raised or disengaged from both arms.

To the arms 1 are connected cords 35, which preferably extend interiorof the springs 28. These cords lead to the interior of the car and arepulled to return the arms 1 to extended position, should the same failto operate, as in cases when the wind is too strong.

In operation, when a mail-bag is to be caught, the parts are in theposition shown in the drawings, the arms 1 extending at right angles tothe car as is obvious. The mail-bag to be caught is supported in thepath of the grasping devices 13, the rods or the like C of the mail-bagsadapted to be caught intermediate the arms 13 and by the socket 16,which being of spring metal frictionally grips the same. The shockincidental to the catching of the bag is taken up as follows: Thegrasping devices, being of spring metal, the same will spring toward theplate 12 and engage in the adjacent socket 21 of the spider, sliding thesame and bringing the other socket 21 into yielding engagement with thearms 13 of the adjacent grasping device. Simultaneously with thegrasping of the mail-hag, the arm 22 of link 23 is engaged by the arm18, which moves said link at its hinge, relatively to the link 26 andstarts the folding of links 23 and 26. The shock incidental to thecatching of a mail-bag is sufficient to throw or swing the arms 1 to thedoorway of the car, where the same are automatically caught and latchedby the latches 29. During such movement the arms engage the inclinedfaces 30 of the latches, raising the latches and the springs 31 afterthe arm has passed the inclined faces, forcing the latches clownwardlyso that their sockets or openings effectively engage the arms 1. Duringthe inward swinging movement of the arms 1, through the medium of thepinion 5 and gear 6, the shaft 1 is rotated, which through the medium ofsprocket wheels 7 and 9 and chains 8, rotate to some extent the plate 12so that said plate 12 may be swung to bring the mail-bag into a betterposition to be detached or removed from the grasping devices 13. Toreturn the parts to normal position; this is effected through the actionof spring 28 after adjustment of lever 32 to disengage the latchestherefrom. As stated, in cases where the wind is too strong to preventthe return of the arms through the medium of the spring 28, the cords 35may be actuated to effect resetting or extending of arms 1.

By reason of the provision of the opposite grasping devices 13, eitherdevice may be used to engage or catch a mail-bag. It is to be noted thatwhen one of such devices is used to catch a mail-bag, that the other isused as a yielding bumper for the spider 17. It is also to be noted thatthe link 23 and spring 28 are connected to similar lugs on oppositesides of the arms 1. Thus, if desired, the spring and link connectionsmay be fastened on opposite sides of the arms 1, as would be necessarywere the device 0 erating from the opposite side of the car c oor tothat shown.

As merely the preferred embodiment of my invention has been illustratedand described, and as changes in the details of construction may suggestthemselves, such changes are reserved providing they fall within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is 1. In apparatus of the class described,in

combination with a doorway, a swinging tain said arm projected and saidarm andlatch means disengaged.

3. In apparatus of the class described, in combination with a doorway,an object-delivering arm, links pivoted to each other, one pivoted tosaid arm and the other pivoted adjacent said doorway, and meansconnected to said arm and exerting pressure to maintain said linksextended, limiting the swinging movement of said arm.

41. in apparatus of the class described, in combination wit-h a doorway,a plurality of obj cot-delivering arms mounted to swing to ward saiddoorway, separate means to latch said arms fastened adjacent saiddoorway, and a single operating member for said latter means.

5. In apparatus of the class described, in combination with a doorway,an object-delivering arm mounted to swing toward said doorway, object-catching means on said arm, and means to rotate said catching meansas the arm swings toward said doorway.

6. In apparatus of the class described, a swinging object-deliveringarm, a turnable plate mounted on said arm, an object grasping devicesupported from said plate and means to turn said plate on said arm uponthe swinging of said arm.

7. In apparatus of the class described, an object-delivering arm, asprocket wheel on said arm operable through movement of the arm, a chainmovable over said sprocket wheel, a second sprocket wheel mounted onsaid arm engaged by said chain, a plate fastened to said sprocket wheel,and an object engaging device on said plate.

8. In apparatus of the class described, in combination with anobject-delivering arm pivoted thereto, a shaft mounted on said arm, agear on said shaft, a second gear on said shaft in mesh with said gear,a sprocket wheel on said shaft, a second sprocket wheel on said arm, achain passing over said r sprocket wheels, a plate fastened to saidsecond sprocket wheel, and object-catching means on said plate.

9. In apparatus of the class described, a plurality of article-engagingmembers of yieldable material, and a slidable member mountedintermediate said members and engagable directly with either of them forthe purpose specified, said members thus serving as means of engaging anarticle and as cushions.

10. In apparatus of the class described, an article clasp member ofyieldable material, and bumper means for said member separate therefrom.

11. In apparatus of the class described, a catching member of yieldablematerial, a slidable member separate therefrom engaged thereby, andspring bumper means for said sliding member.

12. In apparatus of the class described, a plate, a slidable memberthereon, spring bumper means therefor, and a yieldable catching membermovable against said slidable member.

13. In apparatus of the class described, a swinging article-deliveringarm, foldable links, one pivoted on said arm, a second arm on one ofsaid links, and means to engage said arm to start the folding of saidlinks, operable through the movement of a caught mail-bag.

14c- In apparatus of the class described, a swinging article deliveringarm, foldable links pivoted to each other and one to said arm, a secondarm on one of said links, a slidable spider on said arm having an arm inthe path of said arm of the link, spring cushioning means for saidspider, article catching means, said. article catching means operablethrough the catching of a mail-bag to engage and operate said spider.

15. In apparatus of the class described, in combination with a supportand doorway, a swinging arm pivoted to said support, a shaft mounted onsaid arm, a gear on said shaft, a gear on said support in mesh with saidgear, a sprocket wheel on said shaft, a second sprocket wheel on saidarm, a chain passing over said sprocket wheels, a plate on said secondsprocket wheel, a yieldable obj ect-catching device on said plate, aslidable spider on said plate operable by said catching device,yieldable bumper means for said spider, a spring for said arm, linkspivoted to each other, one pivoted to the arm and the other to thesupport, one of said links having an arm, and said spider having an armin the path of movement of said link.

HARRY F. HANSMANN.

l/Vitnesses:

A. J. I-IANsMANN, WM. A. PAGEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

